University alumnus Stanton Lanier said he never planned on having the title “Pianist of Peace” on his business card.

Today, however, the former financial planner with a background in chemistry is a full-time independent recording artist, pianist and composer ready to release his fifth CD, “Unveiled.”

In barely eight years, Lanier has sold nearly 25,000 copies of his first four CDs, worked with Grammy award-winning producers and even had his music featured on The Weather Channel’s “Local on the 8′s.”

Despite his many accolades, this Marietta resident said he enjoys sharing his story with others, providing for his family and, most importantly, doing “something I love.”

Q: At what point did you realize you wanted to become a full-time pianist and composer?

A: It took several years of waiting, but the idea for the instrumental music came in late 1999 or 2000. I did three recorded CDs while I was working full-time over a period of about four years.

Q: How would you describe your music?

A: I’m careful not to describe myself as a Christian artist because people first would think I’m a singer or they wouldn’t know what I was.

There are a lot of people who love instrumental music but wouldn’t take a listen because of the misunderstanding or misrepresentation of ‘Christian’ music.

My music’s all about peace and rest – helping people slow down.

Q: What do you hope your music conveys?

A: There are a couple of themes – life is a story and we’re all on a quest to discover who we are, why we’re here and how we’re supposed to make a difference in the world and impact people.

Ultimately, the foundation behind my music is the peace of God and my faith.

But I just want people to enjoy the beauty of the music and to get a sense of God’s faith through it, but not in their face at all.

Q: Why will University students enjoy your work?

A: Because it’s original music and it’s written for peace, beauty and rest. It’s really nice for times of reading or studying or creativity – it can spawn some creative thought.

It’s not the type of thing you’d start singing to – it doesn’t distract.

A lot of times instrumental works are versions of songs, so that messes up your studying or reading.

This is a total backdrop of something soothing, but it doesn’t put you to sleep, necessarily.

Q: So where can we buy your CDs?

A: It’s very grass roots, but as an independent artist the most support for my music comes directly from our Web site, stantonlanier.com.

I guess the top three popular places (to buy) would be iTunes, Amazon.com or CDbaby.com.